The present invention relates generally to the field of writing instruments and in particular to a new and useful writing instrument configured with multiple independently selectable marking tips and a non-marking stylus tip.
There are many different types of writing instruments presently available to consumers. Mechanical pencils, ballpoint, rolling ball and fountain pens and non-marking stylii are all available to consumers as single function individual writing instruments from a number of sources. A primary drawback to single-function writing instruments is that a person must switch between distinct instruments in order to use a different writing tip. This can lead to misplacing writing instruments or requires organizers to hold each writing instrument for future use.
As a result, writing tools having two different writing tips have been developed to overcome this problem. For example, A.T. Cross Company sells a writing instrument which combines a non-marking stylus and gel ink pen in the same body under the trademark DIGITAL WRITER DUO. The A.T. Cross product has a cap for covering one end while the other is in use. Neither writing tip is retractable.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 328,917 illustrates a two-ended ballpoint pen having a cap for each end. The pen barrel is generally cylindrical, with textured grip portions adjacent each of the writing tips. The writing tips are tapered to openings through which the pen tips protrude. One of the caps can be placed over the other cap, but the reverse is not true. The pen tips are not shown as being retractable.
Other patents disclose writing instruments with multiple marking tips which generally extend from the same end of the instrument, combine only two different writing tips and/or require a separate cap, which is otherwise non-functional, to cover one of the writing tips or leave a marking tip exposed during use of another tip.
Combination fountain pen and pencil writing instruments are shown in expired U.S. Pat. No. Des. 59,945, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 78,794, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 151,233 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,334,860. As disclosed in each of these patents, a single cap is provided to be placed over either the fountain pen or the pencil, but one marking tip is always exposed.
Still other patents teach combinations of writing instruments in which pen points of the same general type can be alternately extended through a single writing tip or all retracted, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,242 for a multi-color retractable pen having four ball point pen points, each with their own ink supply, which can be alternately extended through the single writing tip of the pen. A spring-biased plunger is used to force each ink supply and pen point forward, while causing any other pen point to be retracted back into the pen barrel. The pen can function only as a ballpoint pen and lacks any other writing tips combined on the pen barrel.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,402,164 discloses a fountain pen having one permanent nib and one retractable nib. The retractable nib is carried on a sliding body which is activated from the side of the pen barrel to extend the moving nib past the fixed nib for use at the same end of the writing instrument.
A mechanical pencil and pen are provided in the same writing instrument taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,822. The pencil and pen tips are alternately extended through the same writing tip of the writing instrument. The cap is fixed for axial movement when the pencil is selected so that lead can be fed to the pencil as it is used. The cap is not removable. No other writing tool is provided on the cap or writing instrument.
Other writing instruments have fixed writing points adapted to be covered by a removable cap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,850 is for a pen having integral non-marking stylus and marking pen tips at opposite ends of a barrel. A cap is provided for alternately covering the pen tip or stylus tip. The two tips are provided on the same body and no other writing tips are provided.
The prior art patents do not offer a solution for providing multiple marking tips in a writing instrument which is self-contained as a single instrument and does not need a cap to protect one or more writing points. None of the prior patents discloses a writing instrument which combines the benefits of one or more ballpoint tips with a fountain pen, rolling ball or felt-tip marker and a non-marking stylus, while ensuring that only the marking tip in use is exposed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a single writing instrument having multiple marking tip functions with a non-marking stylus tip.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a multiple function writing instrument having two functional parts which combine for use as a single writing instrument.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a multiple function writing instrument which does not require a cap having no writing function to protect any of the writing tips.
A further object of the invention is to provide a multiple function writing instrument having at least one ball point pen tip and a fountain pen, rolling ball or felt-tip marker and a non-marking stylus arranged so that each marking tip which is not being used can be protected from making stray marks.
Accordingly, a multiple function writing instrument of the invention has two complimentary bodies which are joined to form a single writing instrument for use as a ballpoint pen, non-marking stylus and one of a fountain pen, rolling ball or felt-tip marker. The two complimentary bodies are a front section and a rear section. The front section has a chamber for holding one or more ball point pen cartridges. The ball points of the cartridges are extendable one at a time through an opening in the front section writing tip. The back of the front section is open and forms a sleeve for receiving the rear section. The rear section is bilaterally symmetric with a non-marking stylus at one end and a fountain pen, rolling ball or felt-tip marker tip extending through a writing tip at the opposite end. The rear section is adapted to fit into the open sleeve of the front section and held by a frictional fit. Different rear sections may be used which have different marking tips at the end opposite the non-marking stylus, depending on the preference of the person using the writing instrument. That is, a rear section having a fountain pen tip and a stylus tip could be switched for a rear section having a rolling ball tip and stylus tip. In a preferred embodiment, the marking tips of the rear section are replaceable cartridges.
The writing instrument of the invention may be used as a ball point pen, a non-marking stylus, or a fountain pen, rolling ball or felt-tip marker, depending on which point is exposed for use. All of the marking tips may be retracted or protected, so that stray marks are not made when another tip is in use.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.